I just got off the phone with the Henderson recruiter. She says all she has available is for lease purchase drivers. I said "no thanks." I'm not leasing a truck from anybody. She said she would give me a call if an opening became available, but who knows. I'm still looking.

Seems like no one is hiring right now. Its a good thing I've always had another job before I quit, or I would have quit Heartland this last week and been without a job. At least with Heartland I can technically say I'm employed.

Heading to Memphis here in a little bit. Hope to be west bound after that and get off in Texas or somewhere and hopefully get some miles in.

 

O.K. its been a while, but it seems things might finally be picking back up. Had a couple bad weeks in a row, and then a couple good weeks in a row now.

Left for Memphis, delivered, picked up on the OB yard to Savannah, GA (which I did in one day, but my dispatcher was worried that I couldn't drive 612 in 11 hours....).

Savannah deadhead to Charleston, SC. Pick up and relay to Kingsport, TN.

Pick up loaded in Kingsport, take it to the house on Friday night for a Monday midday delivery in Chattanooga. (Not great miles this week, don't have the exact figure).

******

Week 2:

Delivery in Chatt. Had to re-stack 4 skids of Pepsi products because the driver who picked it up out of Virginia didn't put the load strap on right. Good news is it only took me and the dock guy 20 minutes (they were in the blue plastic crates), they paid me $40 for it, and I got a 6 pack bottles of Mt Dew out of the deal that had to be rejected because one had come out of the clear plastic holder.

Pick up in Chatt. for a next morning delivery in Bessemer, AL (Birmingham).

Deliver and pick up in Birmingham for a next day delivery on the east side of Atlanta (don't remember the name of the town, but it wasn't far from Brasselton). This was supposed to be a delivery the next day. Live unload, all day appointment. Found out from my dispatcher though, if I got it there by 1630, they would take it that day. I hoofed it over there. Got there around 1645.... (I would have been there at 1615 if the stupid directions would have been right). BUT-- they had me back it in a door and they had a dropped Heartland empty!! I didn't have a preplan, so I dropped my loaded, bobtailed to get something to eat, then come back for my empty. Stay there the night.

PIck up in Brasselton, GA and deliver in Colonial Heights, VA (Richmond). Pick up my loaded and its got a blown brake chamber. TA finally gets it fixed, then get to VA.

Get to our yard in Chester. The starter on my truck had been dragging for some time. I get the truck serviced and get a starter on it, blowing a whole day, but I needed the starter so whatever...

Pick up on a Friday in Richmond, take it to the Columbus yard.

*****

Week 3

Pick up a loaded on Saturday morning in Columbus, take it to Maysville, KY. Drop and hook for a loaded that goes to the Kingsport yard. These are both heavy, heavy loads and the hills on US 23 going across Virginia into Kingsport are lots of fun!! It wasn't really that bad, but it was dark. Someday I'd like to run US 23 from Kingsport to Columbus during the day so I can see what it around me.

Get to Kingsport on Saturday night, but no preplan. Sit there all day Sunday, most of the day Monday.

Finally pick up a loaded and go to Newport, TN. (like 60 miles) Deliver Tuesday morning, second delivery stop in Morristown, TN. I did get short haul pay and layover, but still....

To be fair, I was supposed to be home on the Thursday of this week, so my dispatcher was worried about not getting me home. My parents were coming in. After getting unloaded, I take my empty to Loudon, TN and drop it. Bobtail to Knoxville, get an empty, take it to Loudon. Bobtail back to Knoxville, take an empty to Loudon. Then I bobtail to Maryville, TN to get myself an empty for the following day. I get the Maryville, but they have no empties, so I go home. This is where I sit until Sunday. So, no miles, but I was home.

****

Week 4

Left out Sunday for Pittston, PA (pick up loaded in Loudon, TN). Drop it in Carlisle. Actually got in and out of Carlisle the next morning. It was like a miracle. I think its one of the first times I've been in Carlisle and my truck or trailer didn't need service.

Loaded in Carlisle, PA for Wytheville, VA. Supposed to be a live unload at 0830 Wednesday. (I didn't actually get to Carlisle until Monday mid morning). I end up dropping it there early (since its actually a drop and hook delivery).

Pick up Wednesday at Gatorade in Wytheville (where I delivered). Take it to Bedford, PA. Before I got unloaded I got a preplan to deadhead to Morgantown, WV to go to Greensboro, NC the next morning.

Pick up in Morgantown, WV and end up dropping it at the TA in Morgantown, VA. Second night in a week at the same truckstop, but thats o.k. since I actually moved in between.

Friday afternoon, drop my empty in Wytheville, VA, bobtail to Dollar General in South Boston, VA. Pick up and empty. Swap it for a loaded in Red Oak, VA thats going to Delaware. I end up dropping it at the Chester yard Friday night well before midnight making it 2055 paid miles for the week, and I didn't work hard at all. Actually had a pretty easy week of it.

****

Week 5

Now we're getting caught up.

I figured I would be stuck in Chester all weekend. Every time I get to a terminal on a Friday night or Saturday, I'm stuck for the weekend sitting. Got the surprise of my life...

Woke up Saturday, they had a preplan. Pick up in Richmond ASAP and relay to Kingsport yard. Well, if I'm at a terminal, I'll be closer to home in Kingsport. Before I even pick up in Richmond I learn I have another preplan. Pick up a loaded in Kingsport, then deliver it Monday evening in Clinton, TN (5 miles from my house). Jackpot! Home for the weekend.

I ended up having to wait 1/2 an hour or so for the load to get to Kingsport, but I still had plenty of time to get home.

Deliver Monday evening and my preplan is to pick up in Vonore, TN Tuesday morning to Indianola, MS. So, I go home for the night again.

Get to Indianola Tuesday night, but its a live unload Wednesday morning. Get unloaded Wednesday. Don't get a preplan until a little later in the morning. Go to Memphis to load for Baltimore, but I'm supposed to take it to Kingsport and drop it. Fine with me.

Got some good news in Olive Branch. I knew it would be close to get to Kingsport with my hours, I knew I couldn't sit in any stupid inspection line for long. Get there around 2 PM and its shut down! Why? I don't know, but I was glad. Grab some fuel and get to my pickup. I'd been there before so it was easy to find.

Get to Kingsport and they are having driver appreciation days. Free drinks, free food, door prizes. Got myself a new KW hat and some gloves and won a door prize. And I ate a lot. It was nice. I also met Russ Gerdine. He seemed nice enough I guess. Stay in the driver lounge long as most of the drivers were outside in the tent.

Anyway, I get a preplan and I have to call someone at the terminal to confirm it. They want me to pick up the trailer I dropped last night and take it to Unilever in Baltimore. No problem I guess, but I wanted to be home for Easter. Well, they have another preplan on me, pick up Friday afternoon at Unilever going to Portland, TN for Monday morning. A home load!

Thought I'd get lucky so I drove to Unilever and dropped the first load. This is like 2100 on Thursday and my next load wasn't supposed to be ready until 1300 Friday. Check with them and sure enough, its sitting there loaded. I can't believe it! Grab it and head for Virginia. Might as well get out of Baltimore and Washington while I can instead of waiting until morning. That makes 3 days in a row with 550 or more miles! Made 2100 paid this week.

****

Week 5

Now, this is confusing I know but here it goes. This week actually starts in Baltimore since I can't get the Baltimore-Portland, TN unloaded until 0100 Friday. I hope that makes sense. I'm writing this on the 11th, so this is technically week 5.

Got home last night around 1830. Will leave tomorrow afternoon/evening sometime. Starting the week with dang near 700 miles on this run. Can't complain.

So, for week 4, I got 2100 paid, had to work the Saturday, but was home Sat night, Sun all day and night, Monday all day and night (except 3 hours to go get unloaded in Clinton, TN) and Friday night.... Thats doing pretty good. Maybe we are finally getting in a better groove and rolling a little better. I hope so.


Thats whats happened for the last little while. Hopefully I'll be back here next weekend. I'll try to update more often, its hard to remember exactly where I went some 5 weeks ago...

 

P A Frederick - It seems you may have turned the corner with Heartland. Has it become

not so bad and are you thinking of hanging with them a while?

 

Question for all of the Heartland drivers. Im looking to run west regional for them. Are you getting miles? Do they run a loose leaf log book? Is it true they will not allow inverters? Do they get you home every weekend like they say they do? How are they to run for? I'd appreciate any info, Thanks

 

PDL- Things have gotten better for me personally here at Heartland. Got 2100 miles in this week. Not too bad. I don't plan to stay there too much longer though. I'm still looking for a job where I can go back to college. This is the reason I moved my family to Knoxville. I hope to economy picks up some so I can find something. Heartland is treating me pretty good right now, though.

Skip- I don't know much about the western region for Heartland. I know a couple guys have met some Phoenix drivers while they were in Atlanta a few months ago on loads. I did meet a guy who moved from Ohio out there I think to work western. He said they had a 170% turnover out of that terminal for the year and a half he was there. He ended up moving to Florida. He wasn't getting miles.

As far as the other stuff: 1. No inverters AT ALL!! Immediate termination if you're found with an inverter or linear at all. 2. They provide logs books that are bound, but a lot of guys take out the staples and make their own loose-leaf out of them. No one says anything or cares. BUT- they are real strict on hours of service and log violations and stuff. They are 100% by the book when it comes to that crap. Its a pain to deal with sometimes. 3. They technically promise you home 3 out of 4 weekends a month. they have done pretty good by me with home time, but there are guys who don't get home as often. I met a guy today in fact who said he hadn't been home in 3 weeks.

The best advice I can give you is to ask drivers in that area how they are doing. Heartland has a million little stupid things they do that will drive you absolutely nuts. Trust me, I know.

I'll fill everyone in a little more on this week a little later.

 

Thanks P A Frederick. Im going to keep looking before i move out there. The no inverter bugs me the most. How do you charge your lap top, microwave your dinner, watch t.v.? What are you suppose to do while sitting? Sounds like they are strict on ideling to then right?

 

Skip, they really aren't as strict as say Schneider with their idle time. They don't want you to idle too much when its between 39 and 77 degrees I think it is. If its colder or warmer than that when you're trying to sleep, they don't care if you idle all night (or all day, depending on when you sleep).

This week was another pretty good week for me, got 2050 miles from Friday midnight to Friday midnight. Thought I wasn't going to do as good there on Monday night. I was supposed to pick up a Ford load in Sheboygan, WI Tuesday morning and deliver same day in Sharonville, OH. I stopped at the TA in Russel, IL and got fuel (they don't want us fueling in IN, WI, or MN). Decided I'd run into the Country Pride and get me a bite because I was going to sleep at the shipper. Got back out to my truck and Ford had cancelled the load! That was a little frustrating, but in about 30 minutes my dispatcher had a different load picking up in the AM in Burlington, WI to St. Louis, MO. Problem was it didn't deliver until Wednesday afternoon. Ended up doing pretty good though for where I'm at.

I'll post where all I've been for the two weeks later today.

 

O.K. here's my quick run down of the last two weeks.

Left home, went to Portland, TN for a 0700 delivery. Get there around 0630 or so. Come to find out, this is a new warehouse facility for Sun detergents in Bowling Green, KY. The guy didn't show up until 0830 to unload. No problem though. My next load picked up at the other Sun Detergents warehouse in Portland, TN. It was going to Kroger in Memphis the ext afternoon. Picked it up, dropped it in Olive Branch at the yard.

Pick up at OB and deliver that afternoon to Kroger in Memphis. They needed someone to run it up there. Get unloaded, go back to OB, get a shower and a bite to eat. Pick up at Ford in Memphis Tuesday morning for Evansville, IN delivery.

Deliver in E-ville. Pick up at Kimberley Clark in Owenboro, KY. Deliver to KC in McDonough, GA. The guy at OB told me I was within 300 miles of needing a grease job. Deadhead to Atlanta a get the grease job done. Get that done in amazingly fast time, pick up a loaded going to Charleston, NC.

Deliver Thursday AM in Charleston. Deadhead to Asheville, NC to pick up.

I had to be home Friday morning so I could take my final test from last semester. I relay my loaded (going to Cleveland, TN) at the Flyin J in Knoxville to another driver, and go home.

****Week 2

DH from home to Loudon, TN to pick up at Kimberley Clark, going to Des Plaines, IL. Deliver Monday morning. Supposed to deadhead to Sheboygan (explained in a previous post). Instead, picked up in Burlington, WI, going to St. Louis, MO. Go to O'Fallon yard to take my break.

Deliver in St Louis Wednesday afternoon. Didn't think I'm break 2000 this week at this point. Seemed like it was being pretty slow. Pick up in STL for New Albany, MS. I might mention here they had this load and the next on me before I got unloaded in St Louis.

Deliver in New Albany and pick up in Tupelo, MS going to McRae, GA.

Make it to McRae around midnite on Thursday night. Take a break, finally get a load Friday afternoon. Get one picking up in Orangeburg, SC for Gouldsboro, PA. I got my trailer picked up before Midnite Friday, so I got paid for the empty milage from McRae to Orangeburg. Ended up at 2050 miles this week.

Now, its a good ways out of route from Orangeburg to Gouldsboro to go through Knoxville, but thats what they wanted so I did. I'm supposed to be at my parents house in Southern Illinois by mid afternon Thursday for a coonhunt the club there is having. I questioned whether I could get from Gouldsboro to Flora, IL by Thursday, but he said no problem. My dispatcher was gone Friday and will be gone Monday too. They guy I talked to said he was emailing load planner for the Gouldsboro area Friday to get the ball rolling on me getting there. I'm also supposed to call him at 0800 Monday to remind him again. I hate to say it, but that is a lot more thorough than my usual fleet manager is. He would have got me there (and he will be in charge when he comes back).

This has been the fourth week in a row with 2000+ miles. Thats pretty good. Getting along pretty good. I won't be here next weekend as I'll be at the coonhunt in Flora, IL. Talk to you all soon.

 

I can't believe it has been a month since I have updated on here. Sorry. Seems like when I am home I have so much to do I don't have time to write much.

Last I wrote I was trying to get to southern Illinois for the next weekend. I told them I needed to be there by Thursday afternoon. I ended up getting there Wednesday afternoon after getting 1850 miles in for the week. Thats a pretty good week.

I don't remember everything I've done these past few weeks. I do know, other the week after memorial day, for the past 8 weeks I've consistently had between 1950-2450 miles.

I forgot, I didn't do that good this past week (and probably won't this week either). Last week on Monday I was in Carlisle. I had to del Tue AM in Lemoyne, PA. They give me a preplan going from Denver, PA to Mechanicsville, VA. Bottom of the preplan says "take your truck to Chester to trade in." Bad feeling... My truck had 446,000 but it wasn't a bad truck. Also, I know I don't have enough seniority to get a brand new ProStar so I'll be trading one old 9400 for a slightly newer old 9400.

Well, I get to Chester Tuesday night. Watch a little TV, take a shower, sit around. Shop doesn't open till 0730 so I have a good wait ahead of me. Go to the shop Wed AM and they don't have one cleaned out. Talk to another guy waiting on a truck, he's been there 3 days... Finally find out around 1300 they want me and 4 other guys to load up in a van and go to Columbus to get trucks. Van won't leave till 1600.

Get to Columbus and they get us all rooms (double occupancy) for Wednesday night. Get to the terminal around 1030 Thursday morning. They are having driver appreciation days. Free food... They have this sitting in the parking lot:Paul Frederick's Photos | Facebook It was pretty nice of the International dealer to bring it for us to look at and in. Best new truck I've ever been in and I've seen a lot. Had a Signature 600 Cummins and an 18 speed Eaton-Fuller. But, at $155,000 it ought to be nice.

Finally get a truck on Thursday afternoon (they sent 5 of us from Chester and 1 from Carlisle). I got a load, but it doesn't load until Friday afternoon in Dayton. Sit around all morning (with the free food so it was better than normal). They tell me its a water load picking up out of Dayton, so don't get more than 3/4 fuel. Get to the place, it is water bottle premolds. Little plastic things that they blow up. Weighed 30,000 lbs total. Brought it to the Flyin J in Knoxville for a driver who had been sitting since Fri AM waiting for it.

Got home here Friday night/Saturday morning. Been here since then. They finally got me a plan last night that won't be here until this afternoon. Guy is bringing it from NC going to Sidney, OH for tomorrow morning.

Hopefully I'll post more on here as it happens. Been going pretty smooth the last couple months. Seems everyone I talk to at the terminals say their miles are picking up a little. Been going to a lot of the same places, but its o.k.

Oh, my "new" truck has 349,000 miles on it so it is a little better, but I have to figure out all the problems on it...

 

What! You're not in a New ProStar Yet..

hmmm, maybe you could threaten to quit and get bumped up the list by your Terminal Manager. It almost worked when I left... (Not really).

It's good to see you're hanging in there, though. The economy being what it is and all-- a large "solid & stable" company like that-- is good for peace of mind and 'security' to have.